Run Fast, Darling Girl: Lora’s Perspective

I watch until she disappears among the trees, taking my heart with her. Only then do I close the door, lock it, and wipe away my tears. I have a role to play now, and lives depend on my performance.

'She's gone,' I tell James through our link, feeling his relief wash over me.

'Elder Stone says she scored 98%,' he sends back, shock colouring his mental voice.

I bite back a gasp. No wonder Elder Stone came herself. A true omega with that compatibility score would fetch an astronomical price at auction, or be claimed directly by the Council for their own purposes.

I smooth my hair, straighten my blouse, and walk back through the kitchen toward the front of the house. I find James still standing in the doorway, his body blocking the entrance with subtle determination. Beyond him, I see Elder Stone, her silver hair pulled into a severe bun, her burgundy suit impeccable, her amber eyes cold and calculating.

"Ah, this must be the mother," Elder Stone says, her voice honey-sweet with an undercurrent of steel. "Beta Blackwood's mate. How lovely to meet you, my dear."

I step forward, sliding into the role of surprised but honoured hostess. "Elder Stone, what an unexpected honour. Please, won't you come in?"

James throws me a warning glance, but we both know we can't keep her on the doorstep without raising suspicion. He steps aside, allowing the Elder and her two guards, massive males with the hard eyes of enforcers, to enter our home.

"I bring wonderful news," Elder Stone says, her gaze sweeping our modest living room with poorly concealed judgment. "Your daughter has broken records with her compatibility assessment. A 98% match to alpha bloodlines, the highest score I've seen in three decades."

I force my lips into what I hope passes for a surprised smile. "That's... remarkable."

"Indeed. Such a rare genetic treasure must be properly placed. The Council has already received inquiries from several prominent alphas. She'll be the crown jewel of next month's allocation ceremony." Elder Stone's smile doesn't reach her eyes. "Now, where is the girl? I'd like to congratulate her personally."

"She was just finishing dinner," James says smoothly. "She must be in her room. Sophia?" he calls, his voice perfectly calibrated to sound normal.

"Search the house," Elder Stone orders her guards, her pleasant facade slipping. "Quickly."

The two men move with practiced efficiency, one heading upstairs while the other moves toward the back of the house. I feel sweat beading at my hairline but keep my expression neutral, even as I hear them opening doors, pulling back shower curtains, looking under beds.

"Is something wrong?" I ask, feigning confusion.

Elder Stone's amber eyes fix on me with sudden intensity. "You know exactly what's wrong, don't you, Mrs. Blackwood? You've helped her escape."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I reply, but my heart is pounding so hard I'm certain she can hear it.

"Elder," one of the guards calls from the kitchen. "Back door was recently opened. There are footprints leading to the woods."

Elder Stone's face hardens into a mask of fury. "Do you have any idea what you've done? That girl is Council property, the most valuable omega we've tested in a generation."

"She is not property," James says, his voice low and dangerous. "She's our daughter."

"Your daughter belongs to the Council," Elder Stone snaps. "Her genetic profile is too valuable to waste on personal sentimentality. Do you know how many packs would benefit from her bloodline? How many strong alpha sons she could bear?"

I feel sick at her words, at the casual way she reduces my daughter to a breeding machine. "She belongs to herself," I say, unable to keep the edge from my voice.

Elder Stone turns to her guards. "Call for backup. I want search parties in those woods immediately. She can't have gotten far."

As one guard speaks rapidly into his radio, I reach out through the farthest limits of my mind link, stretching it to its breaking point, knowing Sophia is probably too far away to hear me clearly, but desperate to try.

'Run, darling girl,' I project into the night. 'The Council isn't going to stop. Your father and I love you so much.'

I don't know if she hears me, but I pour all my love, all my hope into that mental message.

Elder Stone watches me, her eyes narrowing with understanding. "You're contacting her now, aren't you? Telling her to keep running?" She turns to the guard who isn't on the radio. "Restrain them both. They're now actively interfering with a Council claim."

The guard moves forward, pulling zip ties from his belt. James steps in front of me protectively, but we both know there's no point in resisting. This was always how it would end.

"James and Lora Blackwood," Elder Stone intones formally, "you are hereby detained on suspicion of interfering with Council Directive 117 and abetting the escape of a claimed omega. The penalty for such actions can include imprisonment, pack expulsion, or execution, depending on the severity of the interference and whether the subject is successfully recovered."

The guard binds James's wrists first, my mate not resisting as the plastic bites into his skin. His eyes find mine, and through our bond I feel his fierce pride mingled with fear, not for himself, but for me and for Sophia.

'We gave her a chance,' he tells me silently as the guard moves to bind my wrists next. 'That's all we could do.'

'It has to be enough,' I reply, watching Elder Stone bark orders into her phone, already organising search parties.

As the guards lead us toward the door, I take one last look at our home, the family photos on the wall, the worn furniture that holds the imprints of our bodies, the kitchen where we just shared what might be our final meal together. All the physical trappings of our life, soon to be left behind.

But what matters most is already gone, racing through the night, carrying our hopes with her. Sophia, my beautiful, brave daughter. Nyx, the wolf who runs with our love protecting her.

Run far, run fast, my darling girl. And someday, be free.